


We'll Have Ourselves a Merry Christmas, One Way or Another

by Soviet



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And a Vlad who isn't so keen on the idea, Christmas Season, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Supportive Partners, Trevor being a handsy lad, family fight but it gets better promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soviet/pseuds/Soviet
Summary: Adrian is feeling down about the holidays after having a fight with his father about his relationship with Trevor and Sypha. His partners are supportive in their own ways and Lisa Tepes talks some sense into her husband behind the scenes.
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	We'll Have Ourselves a Merry Christmas, One Way or Another

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheTurtleFromHell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTurtleFromHell/gifts).



> This is for the Castlevania Creatives Secret Santa 2020, it was my first time doing an exchange like this and it was very fun! Wanted to explore a modern alternative to Vlad, since him hating all of humanity didn't seen to fit as well. So I went with him being a bit of a "conservative older man" to see where that'd take me.

Christmas this year was going to be...strained. It was the nicest word Adrian could find to describe the predicament he found himself in. Which in itself was a bit harsh considering he was lounging on an overstuffed couch with a penchant for making the user fall asleep with a mug full of homemade mulled wine all while in the company of the two people who gave him the most overwhelming sense of completeness. Trevor’s flat really was the most comfortable of their three spaces, which was probably why after six months of both Sypha’s and his apartments gathering dust since they weren’t used enough to justify cleaning, they had all moved into Trevor’s permanently. Trevor had made a fuss about having to move things around and no longer having a guest bedroom as the spare had been turned into Sypha’s crafting space, but that was easily silenced when they had all pitched in for a king sized bed. No more synchronized rolling over multiple times in the night to avoid booting anyone over the side. And saving on the heating bill since they didn’t need to have it on at night anymore.

No, this was arguably perfect. The two Christmas trees sat on opposite sides of the fake fireplace, one tastefully glowing with warm white light and golden baubles, while the other… Well, Adrian told Trevor it looked like somebody had thrown it in a blender with every dollar store ornament they could find and then set to pulverize. Trevor had informed him he clearly just hated anything with a bit of flavor to it. Sypha was pleased as a peach with the arrangement because she’d never had her own tree before and this was a shameless excuse to enjoy the full spectrum. So with that the boys had stepped back to watch her sit directly between the two, ogling with eyes wide and glittering. Though the wonder in her face was childlike, they had also agreed she had never looked more beautiful. But at the moment she was in the kitchen, finishing up cleaning the dinner plates before loading them into the dishwasher, Trevor had given up trying to convince her that was the machine’s job and was by “his” tree wrapping up the hoard of small gifts for his family. If Adiran remembered correctly, there were twenty small cousins to shop for, their parents, his siblings, their children, and his mother. He had joked about at least he didn’t have to worry about finding something for his impossible to shop for father but Adrian knew that even though it had been 5 years the family still struggled with the loss.

Family…

Adrian sighed a little, placing the rim of his mug against his lip and gazing into the red liquid. His gatherings had always been small. Just his mother and father for the most part. He knew his mother was an only child and her parents had died when Adrian was no more than five or six years old. They were Jewish so when their daughter wanted to also celebrate Christmas to make sure Adrian got the full experience from both his parents it had caused some arguments. Eventually the deal was Hanukkah first, then they might join for a “festive dinner” but no extra presents. His father had been exceedingly vague about his parents. His mother had told Adrian once in confidence that they were alive but estranged for reasons she felt unnecessary to share. While it of course had been a source of great curiosity when he was younger, when Adrian saw the look on his father’s face when seeing young families spending time together in public he felt it best to accept that he was never going to want to hear the full story. Besides, it was much more rewarding when they would spend an intimate December together. His father would help Adrian decorate the tree, showed him how to craft their own ornaments, and would take him out of shopping trips to try and surprise his wickedly clever mother. His father was convinced she could see through the wrapping paper. And so that had been the routine, for years. Until, well, last week.

Adrian hadn’t kept Trevor and Sypha a secret, he’d talked about spending time with them, going on dates and the like. What he hadn’t realized was that his father hadn’t quite grasped the full situation. Or maybe he had simply tried to pretend like it wasn’t there. His mother had asked him more directly in private, Adrian had explained that yes, he was dating two people and that no there was no cheating going on because the other two were dating each other as well. The unmentioned information that he was bisexual completely went unremakred on, Lisa Tepes had always been firmly of the opinion that who you slept with was your business alone. She had been concerned about him and that he wasn’t being strung along by a couple trying to “fill the void in their relationship with another person”. But as he continued to talk more about the love and care they treated him with, the gentle (or at times not so gentle) calls for him to improve himself, and the bone filling warmth he felt when around them he seemed to put her at ease. What he hadn’t counted on was his father’s reaction when he asked if he could bring his partners to their Christmas dinner.

Admittedly it was the first time he’d referred to them in such a way, so maybe he had simply caught his father off guard. But even so, Adrian felt what had transpired afterwards was completely unjustified. He had never fought with his father, he was neither a person who enacted physical punishment or raised his voice when disciplining him in his youth. So to have the conversation go from sharp criticism about “this Belmont boy involving himself in your relationship with Sypha” to full on shouting at him that such things would not be allowed under his roof...well. His mother had stepped in, scolded the man more than two feet taller than her with a certainty that she would win. But that still hadn’t stopped Adrian from declaring that if anything he was the one interfering, Trevor and Sypha had been together before he’d met them. It was a not so silent fear and guilt he kept in his heart, knowing the other two would hate to hear that was how he saw himself. A third wheel. But in his audible admittance (one that shocked himself in the heat of the moment) it had only fueled his father’s ire. He had raised a better son, strong enough to forge his own path without needing to leech off of others to survive. Adrian left to the sound of his mother ordering this to cease, that it was on his father for not bothering to clarify the situation for himself. But that was a week ago, and Christmas Eve was tomorrow. 

He’d ignored their texts and calls, though noted with contempt that they all came from only his mother’s number. He didn’t understand. He’d never known his father to be...well, he couldn’t say there weren’t certain topics he could get very defensive about. But this? Maybe it was his fault for not being clearer, maybe he should have talked to his mother first, maybe he should have just said they were friends. Hell, he hadn’t even told them he’d moved in with them!

“Hey.”

The gruff tone snapped Adrian out of his haze, whipping his head up and seeing Trevor standing over him, one hand on the back on the couch and a furrow in his brow. “You’re on it again, your parents.”

“And what makes you think that?” Adrian replied, clearing his throat to try and clear away what had sounded very much like choked back tears.

“I’ve been standing here for ten fucking minutes and you didn’t even notice.”

“Bullshit, you’ve never stood still in your life.”

“I went to the DMV with you once.”

“And got told to go wait outside because your pacing was stressing out the receptionist.”

Trevor huffed and used his brute strength to lift Adrian’s legs. The blond complied, holding them up until Trevor sat down on the couch and pulled them across his lap. “But I’m not wrong, and you know it.”

Adrian breathed out through his nose, biting back a small smile as Trevor started kneading his calves, working the muscles with firm squeezes. “This will be my first Christmas without them,” he said softly, setting the now cold mug on the floor.

“You never had a year where the travel was too hard? Or something else came up?”

“No, it was only the three of us so it was never that complicated to arrange.” He hissed a little when Trevor found a tender spot near his knee, which only encouraged the brunette to work it more until his legs went pliant again.

“Well, it’s on your dad for being such a git about it.” Trevor waved off Adrian’s glare, not making eye contact as he was prone to do when trying to be comforting. “Look, he had time to talk to you about it, your mom did. And yes, we’re not...conventional. But we work, and that should be enough.”

“And how well did your mother react to the news when you told them you’d be arriving a day late because you were going to try and attend your boyfriend’s family dinner with your girlfriend?”

“Oh, she was livid,” Trevor finally glanced up with a smug grin. “But they figured out years ago that if they want to have me bring enough toys to keep the entire brood from tearing the house apart, they can’t argue with me.”

“She was upset about...the gifts?”

“Yeah. And I suppose she had thought we would all go there so that was three less mouths than what she’d planned on setting plates for. You know she starts setting up the seating chart in November?”

Adrian snickered, rolling his eyes. “A Belmont? Being organized? You’re bluffing.”

“Oh piss off. The woman is the goddamn center of the operation, of course she’s organized. And do you really think I could manage getting all of those gifts if I couldn’t make a simple list?”

Adrian barked a laugh, and then sighed, and then felt his jaw clamp shut when his eyes suddenly welled up.  _ Damn it, not again. _ But it was too late, Trevor had noticed and was hauling Adrian onto his lap. This was never graceful, as Adrian had to resituate to sit comfortable with a leg on either side of Trevor’s lap, but it was also never negotiable. Guiltily, Adrian draped his hands on Trevor’s shoulders, glaring at the man’s collar like it was the reason a few tears had slipped down his cheeks. 

This whole occurrence had been the first time he’d ever cried in front of Trevor and he hated it. Not because he thought Trevor would judge him for it, he’d watched as the oaf had dried Sypha’s eyes on many occasions from sad cat videos to troubles at work. No: he just was reminded each time how how he had unceremoniously spilled everything about the fight to them, Sypha pressing warm tea mugs spiked with brandy into his hand, Trevor petting his hair as he admitted everything from how devastated he felt by the rejection and how he’d admitted out loud that he felt like he was an inconvenience for them. Of course they hadn’t argued with him, they sat quietly until his voice was hoarse and he was draped limply between the two on the couch. Carried there. They never discussed serious things when one was upset. That was always done after when everyone could be calm. It vexed Trevor the most, because when he was upset he tended to puff up and yell and fume but he had figured out he needed to just go burn steam in the gym until he could sit down rather than pace constantly. The whole week after Adrian knew he was being spoiled, getting to sleep in the middle of the bed and having his hair braided every night with no arguments from Trevor. Usually there was a barb about how he’d already done that for all his sisters for years but instead it was simply a head hand pushing Adrian to sit down on the floor so Trevor could organize the thick locks into braids that wouldn’t strangle Sypha in the night. And of course Sypha had gone out of her way to include him in all of her holiday prep, especially the baking where he got first dibs on licking the bowl. They weren’t direct things that really unseated his fear that he would one day be kicked out of this nest he’d made with them, but they knew that was a demon he would have to kill on his own. The best they could do was stay stubbornly glued to his side until he was strong enough to do so.

“What’s going on?” Sypha chirped from the breakfast counter, watching Trevor brush hair from Adrian’s face with calloused fingertips.

“Family stuff,” Trevor grunted. The redhead nodded and scurried over, sitting to Trevor’s left on the arm of the couch so she could better reach Adrian’s shoulder.

“Do you want to talk?” she asked softly, squeezing her birdlike fingertips into the soft knit of Adrian’s sweater while he shook his head a bit.

“There isn’t much to be said, I’m avoiding them and I know it. If I wanted to reconcile things I should have done so already.”

“But you’re allowed to have time,” Sypha urged, eyes sharp. “Your father said hurtful things and you have every right to be upset.” She paused and watched as Adrian nodded, picking her hand off his shoulder to bring it to his face. She cupped his cheek and brushed his magnificently high cheekbones with her thumb. “But, there is still time. If you’re ready.”

“Ready?” both boys echoed, Trevor’s tone more doubtful than Adrian’s. 

“Well, dinner would be tomorrow right? You could call them.”

“You really think he’s in any mood to call?” Trevor snapped, hands possessively squeezing Adrian’s thighs. “He’s in tears, Sypha.”

“I too have eyes, Trevor,” she quipped back, though her gaze stayed locked on Adrian’s. “But maybe that’s what needs to happen.”

“My mother has been texting me,” Adrian admitted softly. “I feel awful ignoring her.”

“Then maybe you should answer. Or at least see what she has to say.”

Trevor hissed under his breath, but Adrian nodded and Sypha hopped up to grab the offending device from the bedroom. He was clearly not convinced this was a good idea but he stayed quiet as Adrian flicked it on and Sypha returned to her perch, ruffing one hand through his hair. “You’re so protective of him,” she noted, grinning as Trevor shook his head to discourage the hair ruffling.

“I’m...not.”

“Stellar counterpoint, remind me to enroll you in a debate club,” Adrian muttered, getting a sharp slap to his outer thigh. Even Sypha yelped with him, the noise a little louder than what Trevor had intended. 

“Just focus on the phone,” he huffed in defense, shying away from the besotted look Adrian was fixing him with. He could handle coy banter, but Adrian had a certain look that turned his insides into butterflies. But as he was currently functioning as Adrian’s seat he couldn’t really avoid the soft kiss that was applied to his temple. “Fuck’s sake,” he uttered under his breath, now trying to avoid Sypha’s gaze as well as she beamed at him. She loved watching ‘her boys’ be soft with each other.

Adrian navigated to the messaging app, lips pressed into a line. No notifications from his father, not a pleasant sign. But he did see a new one from his mother. There had been a gap of three days from the last one that had been asking when she could call him. But this new message was what made Adrian’s eyes start bubbling again.

Mother: My son, I know you must still be very upset. I have spoken with your father, many times, you know his stubbornness is something of legends. While I think you and I know better than to expect him to admit wrongdoing I think I have something to tell you that will show you he is sorry.

“Well?” Sypha urged, shifting in her seat.

“She said my father is sorry. Or rather, that he’s said something to imply it.”

“That is not the same thing, either he is or he isn’t,” Trevor insisted. Sypha elbowed him a bit but he shook it off. “Look Sypha, the man-”

“He isn’t the type to admit he’s wrong verbally,” Adrian sighed, carefully extracting himself from Trevor’s lap. He nudged the other man’s knees to the side so he could sit down properly, Sypha still on the arm of the couch on his other side. “He...shows it.” Trevor’s garbled complaints continued, but Adrian typed out a reply with Sypha blatantly reading over his shoulder.

Adrian: What did he do?

The wait was tense, Trevor pretending like he wasn’t listening for the phone to buzz and Sypha nudging her ice cold feet under Adrian's thigh as he waited. The reply came quick and Sypha leaned forward so she could read while Trevor averted his gaze to pretend to be polite about it.

Mother: He asked what time we should expect you three tomorrow, he wants to be sure he bought enough food. And if Trevor would be alright with a gift card as he wasn’t sure what to get him. Let us know, love you, :)

“Well then,” Sypha chirped, a cautious smile pulling at her lips. “That sounds...better?”

Adrian nodded, his own tentative smile starting to crease his eyes. “It is. And it’s...faster than I expected. You know he held a grudge over an ice cream cake for over three months?” 

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” Trevor asked with exasperation, tossing his hands up and turning to eye them. “Did he or didn’t he apologize for being a dick?!”

“Trevor, where do you need a giftcard to?” Adrian cut him off, trying not to start up the waterworks again.

“What?!”

“Oooh, tell her one for a nice clothing store. He could use some proper formal wear for New Year’s.” 

“I- Sypha!”

“It’s true, the closest you have are black track pants!”

“They are good track pants and what does that have to do with-” Trevor groaned and scrubbed a palm over his face. He knew when he was already losing ground. Rather than press further he clapped a hand on Adrian’s shoulder and gave him a careful stare. “Is it enough? For you.”

Adrian met his gaze, feeling his stomach flip back and forth between nerves and relief. The sound of his father’s yelling still rung in his ears but he wanted this acceptance. It was such a silly thing, really, to crave one specific meal with his family and his partners. But if that was an option now back on the table… 

“It is. At least for now,” he replied, taking a deep breath before, snapping forward to give a quick peck to Trevor’s scowling lips. While the brunette recovered, mouth popped open in surprise, Adrian continued with a smirk. “The true test will be if my father can tolerate your terrible table manners.”

Sypha wheezed, turning Adrian in her direction so she could wrap all four limbs around his torso, kissing the top of his head as he gratefully sank his face into her chest. Trevor was riled up anew but he seemed to sense it was time to just permit this to be a good sign rather than insist more should be done. With a huff he scooted closer, wrapping his arms around the other two and pressing a kiss to the back of Adrian’s neck. Adrian shivered and reached an arm back to squeeze along Trevor’s thigh, earning a small nip to his ear when he grabbed a handful of his ass.

“Better?” Sypha asked, still keeping Adrian pinned to her chest. He nodded, getting a giggle out of her when he nuzzled his face between her breasts. 

“Yes. Thank you, I don’t know if I would have checked in time.”

“Which speaking of, you should probably answer her.”

“Oh,” he agreed, wriggling himself out of the net of limbs to send off a quick reply. Dinner at 7, and some nice dress slacks for Trevor. And a ‘love you too’ right after. 

He wasn’t sure if he felt entirely at ease about this, he could taste the bitter feeling of rejection in the back of his throat. But it was worth the chance, and at worst, he knew he could return here. To safety and support, as an equal. It would be a merry Christmas, one way or another. Though, he did have to admit to himself and to Sypha later when Trevor went to shower, if there was too much wine involved that he might get a little  _ too _ merry with the two of them. And that might be a bit too much for his dear old dad to handle.


End file.
